The first thing that changed was the way people looked.
Not stared.Not whispered.
Just looked.
Campus 2 had always been a place where rumors moved faster than schedules, but today, the air felt sharpened by attention. Conversations slowed when XH walked past. Phones were held just a little higher. Laughter cut off a little too cleanly.
XH felt it before he understood it.
June felt it immediately.
They walked together from the main building toward the courtyard, not touching, not avoiding each other either. There was something unspoken in the way their steps aligned, the way June didn't pull ahead or fall back.
This wasn't closeness.
It was positioning.
"People are watching," XH murmured.
June nodded. "They have been for a while."
He glanced at her. "Does that bother you?"
June thought for a moment. "Only if we pretend not to notice."
That was June. She never denied reality to make things easier.
They reached the courtyard and stopped. The space was crowded, more than usual. Students clustered around the notice board again, phones out, voices overlapping.
Kitty stood near the edge of the crowd.
She wasn't alone.
The guy beside her had his arm draped casually across the back of the bench. Not touching her, but close enough to suggest familiarity. Close enough to say something without saying it.
Kitty leaned forward slightly, laughing.
Too easily.
XH felt his chest tighten.
June saw it too.
She didn't comment.
She adjusted her bag strap and stepped forward, fully into view, standing beside XH in a way that didn't ask permission.
The looking intensified.
Not hostile.
Curious.
Someone whispered.
Someone nudged a friend.
Someone lifted their phone and pretended to scroll.
Kitty's laughter faltered for half a second when she noticed them.
Then she made her choice.
Kitty's Reckless Decision
Kitty stood up suddenly.
The guy beside her blinked. "Everything okay?"
She smiled brightly. "Yeah. Walk with me."
They moved.
Not away.
Toward.
Toward XH and June.
Toward the center of attention.
Kitty stopped directly in front of them, expression calm, eyes sharp.
"Hey," she said lightly.
"Hey," XH replied.
June inclined her head politely. "Kitty."
Kitty's gaze flicked between them. She noticed how close they stood. How neither stepped back.
She smiled wider.
"This is my friend," Kitty said, resting her hand casually on the guy's arm. "We're together."
The word landed like glass.
Together.
It wasn't shouted.
It wasn't dramatic.
That was what made it reckless.
XH's breath caught. "Oh."
June didn't flinch. She didn't look away.
She simply looked at Kitty, assessing, understanding immediately what this was.
Armor.
A public shield.
"I see," June said calmly.
Kitty watched her face for cracks.
There were none.
Something in Kitty's chest tightened.
Good.
She needed this to hurt.
She leaned into the guy slightly. "We're heading out. Thought we'd say hi."
The guy smiled awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."
XH nodded stiffly. "You too."
Kitty held XH's gaze for a fraction of a second longer than necessary.
This wasn't a plea.
It was a line being crossed on purpose.
Then she turned and walked away with the guy, laughter returning, louder now.
XH stood frozen.
June exhaled slowly.
"That," June said quietly, "wasn't about you."
XH blinked. "It wasn't?"
June shook her head. "It was about survival."
XH watched Kitty disappear into the crowd, stomach twisting.
"She didn't need to do that," he said.
June's voice softened. "No. But she needed to feel in control."
The Public Stance
The murmurs around them intensified.
Someone whispered, "So it's true."
Another voice replied, "Guess he chose."
Chose.
The word echoed painfully.
June felt it too.
She stepped slightly closer to XH, not touching him, but making the alignment undeniable.
She didn't do it for him.
She did it because pretending otherwise would invite chaos.
"You don't have to—" XH began.
June shook her head gently. "This isn't pressure. This is clarity."
She turned, scanning the courtyard, then looked back at him.
"We don't owe anyone explanations," she said. "But we don't hide either."
XH swallowed.
The weight of it settled on him fully.
This wasn't a confession.
This was a stance.
He nodded once. "Okay."
June didn't smile.
But she stayed.
That alone spoke loudly.
External Chaos Strikes Again
The notification hit like a punch.
Phones buzzed simultaneously, a ripple of sound across the courtyard. Conversations cut off mid-sentence. Faces dropped.
XH's phone vibrated in his hand.
June read hers aloud, voice steady but tight.
EMERGENCY UPDATE: PROGRAM TRANSITION WINDOW
Due to continued external review, students may submit immediate requests to transition into local government–accredited programs.This window will remain open for 72 hours.
The murmurs exploded.
"This is it.""They're pushing us out.""My parents were right."
Panic surged visibly now.
Students rushed toward offices. Calls were made. Tears appeared openly.
Kitty stopped walking.
She stared at her phone, color draining from her face.
The guy beside her said something she didn't hear.
She barely registered him.
This wasn't a rumor anymore.
This was a countdown.
Across the courtyard, June felt the tension snap into something sharper.
"Seventy-two hours," she murmured. "They're forcing decisions."
XH's head spun. "This is insane."
June looked at him. "This is leverage."
She reached for his wrist instinctively, then caught herself.
Didn't pull away.
Didn't grip tighter.
Just enough contact to anchor them both.
"We need to talk," she said. "Privately."
XH nodded.
As they moved, Kitty watched them go.
The guy touched her arm. "Hey, are you okay?"
Kitty nodded automatically. "Yeah."
She wasn't.
She had wanted control.
Instead, she had chosen chaos.
Fallout
Inside the quieter hallway, June stopped.
"This is where things get real," she said.
XH ran a hand through his hair. "I know."
"You saw what Kitty did," June continued. "And you saw what people assumed."
XH nodded slowly. "They think I chose."
June met his eyes. "Did you?"
XH's chest tightened.
"I chose not to run," he said honestly.
June studied him.
"That's not the same as choosing me," she said.
"I know," XH replied. "But it's closer than I've ever been."
June exhaled. "I'm not asking for promises."
"Good," he said softly. "I'm bad at those."
She almost smiled.
Almost.
"What I'm asking," June continued, "is whether you're willing to stand with me while everything else shakes."
XH didn't hesitate this time.
"Yes."
The word felt terrifying.
And right.
June nodded. "Then that's our stance."
Not love.
Not labels.
Stance.
Kitty Alone in the Crowd
Kitty sat on the steps outside, phone in her hands, unread messages stacking up.
The guy stood awkwardly nearby.
"You want to talk?" he asked.
Kitty shook her head. "I need air."
He nodded, confused but polite, and walked off.
Kitty stared at the ground.
She had wanted to protect herself.
Instead, she had put herself on display.
She replayed the moment again and again.
The word together.
The way June didn't flinch.
The way XH didn't chase.
Something inside her cracked.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
She wiped her eyes angrily.
"Idiot," she muttered to herself.
She didn't know yet whether she had lost XH.
But she knew she had crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed.
The Chapter Ends
As evening fell, Campus 2 felt fractured.
Students packed forms. Others clung stubbornly to dreams. The private university absorbed another wave of fear, like it always did.
And in the middle of it all:
Kitty stood alone, realizing armor could cut both ways
June stood firm, no longer leaning but no longer retreating
XH stood between them, finally visible, finally accountable
Nothing had resolved.
But nothing was hidden anymore.
And that, more than anything, changed everything.